I am an internationally recognized leadership educator and executive coach, and serve as chair of leadership development at N2Growth. I am the author of more than a dozen books, including MOXIE: The Secret to Bold and Gutsy Leadership, Lead With Purpose, Leader's Pocket Guide, Lead Your Boss, and Great Motivation Secrets of Great Leaders. And I speak throughout North America and Europe. In 2014 Trust Across America named me to its list of Top 100 most trusted business experts, and Inc.com named me as a Top 50 expert in Leadership and Management. I have authored more than 500 leadership columns for a variety of online publications including CBS MoneyWatch, Harvard Business Review and Forbes. My leadership resource website is www.johnbaldoni.com.

Never Act Like the Smartest Guy in the Room

That is advice that many executives impart to their brightest up and comers. While it may be obvious, when you are bright – and able to connect dots to points that no one else can see – it’s pretty tempting to strut your own stuff. The problem is that it can be obnoxious.

Jerry Weintraub – an all-around entertainment impresario – tells a story in his delightful memoir, When I Stop Talking, You’ll Know I’m Dead, about the time Elvis Presley approached him about becoming his manager. Weintraub had produced a series of Elvis comeback performances in the early Seventies and Elvis trusted him. While Weintraub passed on the opportunity, he did make a connection to a top-flight manager in the U.K.

After lengthy negotiations, the manager came to see Elvis in Las Vegas. Weintraub gave the man strict instructions that while he could manage Elvis’s career, he was not to give him advice. He was strictly about business. No problem said the Britisher. So after watching Elvis in concert the manager goes back stage to meet the King. Weintraub watches from a distance as the man asks Elvis if he might make some suggestions about the cape he’s wearing on stage.

Elvis politely – he was always polite to strangers – excused himself and later told Weintraub that the deal was off. Advice about his wardrobe was not what Elvis was looking for in a manager. Yet some people just cannot resist putting in their two-cents and in this case it ended up costing the manager millions.

As gossipy as Weintraub’s story is, it contains nuggets of truth about what it takes to succeed when you are working with people who have power or influence over you – as well as with colleagues who with whom you must collaborate. Sometimes it pays to shut up! There will be plenty of opportunities to show what you know and how you know it but do not show off. People in power don’t like it and people you work with find it annoying.

So if you really the smartest person in the room – trust me, there are those people – how you tone it down in public?

Pace yourself. It is no use telling a super-bright person to start acting dumb – though I have heard such nonsense. What I can advise is to find the right moment to speak up. When discussions hit a stall point, offer suggestions. If others are intrigued, proceed. If people turn away, wait for another time.

Share your ideas with others. Organizations love team players but not all teammates are created equal. Find people you can trust and share your ideas with them. Allow them to introduce them at meetings. Yes, in the short run others will get the credit but in time people will know it is you who are offering solutions that others can use.

Learn to take the spotlight. No I am not contradicting myself: there are moments to step to the fore to show others what you know. You need to do it the right way. Show deference to superiors – that is, don’t tell them how to do their jobs. Offer a better way to do things.

One final piece of advice! Be thankful for your brilliance. Your organization has hired you because you bring that ability to see possibilities where others see roadblocks. So adopt the mindset of a problem-solver rather than a puzzle player. What’s the difference? One who solves problems offers solutions that benefit others. One who fits puzzles together simply satisfies himself.

Smart people who know when to speak up and when to act on their initiatives are a special breed. Don’t squander your opportunities by showing off. Let your cool demeanor speak up for you.

Post Your Comment

Post Your Reply

Forbes writers have the ability to call out member comments they find particularly interesting. Called-out comments are highlighted across the Forbes network. You'll be notified if your comment is called out.

An excellent article on a subject not usually addressed. I have found that this society does not appreciate or reward intelligence, in fact you are hated. People will literally go out of their way to make sure you cannot succeed because they feel you must be put in your place. Frankenstein’s monster gets a better reception than a person of high IQ. As a card carrying Mensan, I learned a long time ago to not speak a word to anyone, just keep quiet and do your job, even if you see as clear as day that the freight train is headed for a cliff. Society shall never see the vast potential that lies just under its boot.

So glad I am not the only one who feels this way. The leaders at my employer is poorly educated…and proud of it! If you do not want to find a new job, sometimes the best course is just “do your job and close your mouth”.

I always joke with one confidant that our corporate culture is…”even though we see the smoke, we wait to put out the fire until after the building has burned to the ground”.

Another card carrying mensan here. I agree with you completely. More than once others have been threatened by me, or viewed me as an obstacle towards a promotion. I’ve had several rumors started about me and have had my words misrepresented to serve the purposes of some intellectually inferior coworkers wanting to upstage me.

Dee, that’s what editors are for. If Forbes don’t provide him with an editor, they should. If he isn’t given the time to edit his own work, or if the editor is letting stuff fall through, he shouldn’t be given flak. Now, maybe he’s his own editor and it’s all explicit and then yeah, it’s his responsibility. But even then, your mannerisms result in your looking like an arrogant d*ck.